Need some help choosing...

GMSweet · #1 12-02-2011, 10:05 AM

Fellow musicians,

I'm hoping you can help me determine a few other strings sets to try out. I've been trying a few other strings over the past year and have started narrowing things down. My apologies for the wall of text to follow, but I'm trying to answer as many potential questions as possible up front.

I play a 35" scale 5 string fretted where the distance from the ball end to the silk must be 36.5" or longer to comfortably clear the nut (D'Addario's won't fit unless they are extra long scale). My preference of gauge is .130, .100, .075, .055, .040 or close thereto; more or less a balanced tension setup.

Here's what I've recently tried and liked/disliked:

DR HiBeams - My go to string for years. When I had Bartolini original series pickups in my bass, these were great. My bass is fairly mid forward so the mid-scoop was fine with me and the lows/highs were nice. With the Bartolini Classic Bass series, the highs became over the top (not harsh, but hard to tame) and the scoop wasn't as welcome/pleasing. I like the feel and tension of these.

DR Sunbeams - With the Bart CB's, the Sunbeams helped warm up the tone while maintaining the high end (for the most part), but the mids really started to dominate the tone again. I like the feel and may try them again since I bought a slightly heavier gauge than I like.

Circle K's - I liked almost everything about them except for the taper. The taper falls right in my landing zone for some of my playing. If the taper was .5" shorter, I'd consider another set for testing. The jury is still out on tapers for me though, I don't particularly care for the feel of the raised B string saddle under my palm at times.

MTD Stainless - bright Bright BRIGHT! These were not my thing, I didn't like the tension, the high end, the taper or the feel. Mind you, they weren't bad strings and "sadly" they lasted a long time so I refused to replace them right away.

So I guess, I 'm looking for some help spending my money on the next set of strings. I think I can sum up the qualities I'm looking for like this:

1) Rounds, nickel or steel, but should have a medium/medium-smooth feel (Think HiBeam/Sunbeam)
2) Plenty of bottom and a nice top end, plenty of articulation not boom
3) Mids can be scooped somewhat, definitely not a mid prominent string
4) Non taper/exposed core unless it's a very short run, even then I'm still not sold on the taper
5) Musical style is solo bass, Gospel, R&B, etc. but no loud dense mixes to bash through.

I've been thinking about Fat Beams, Curt Mangan's and Ken Smith Burners but I'm open to other suggestions. The Sunbeams are close but perhaps a little more top end or a bit less mids would be just right.

Thanks for your help!

Matt

dukeisdog · #2 12-02-2011, 10:09 AM

I'm in a similar situation, I couldn't find any strings locally that would fit my 35" scale Spector Euro 5LX. I shopped around online and found a decent deal on the extra long scale Daddario Pro steels. I took my bass in for a setup on Friday and will be picking it up today or tomorrow. I'm not too sure what to expect from these strings, I know they're gonna be really bright, I just hope they keep a solid end. I can post back with my first impressions of the strings if you'd like.

mikeh994 · #3 12-02-2011, 10:16 AM

Have you tried DR Fat Beams? Similar to Hi Beams but a bit more lows.

GMSweet · #4 12-02-2011, 11:23 AM

@dukeisdog - Sure post 'em up. I'm always interested to here other results. I've stayed away from the D'Addario due the gauges I want not being fully available in the length I need (the .055 D string would need to be a .060). Jason at BassStringsOnline.com does haven't all of the super long scale gauges listed in the build your own section yet and I haven't wanted to ask him to build it if I wasn't going to order them.

@mikeh994 - FatBeams are on my list and really were the next string to try even though I would need to order a slightly heavier A and D string than I like (a .100-.040 set plus the .130 B). I figured I would get some other suggestions before I parted ways with the money.

SLaPiNFuNK · #5 12-03-2011, 07:17 AM

Unfortunately D'Addario only makes certain single strings available. All of their single strings are listed that are available.

They do not make all singles in extra long. So really the best options are choosing 4 string Super Long sets and adding B strings to it.

Although, some strings have full winding, so if you let me know the length you need ball to nut or total length of the string, I can measure the long scale and see if it will work.

I know the High-C strings work on Super Long even though they are listed as "long scale". I would need to check the others manually though.

GMSweet · #6 12-03-2011, 06:27 PM

Thanks for the info Jason. The strings need to be 36.5" to clear the nut. I took a look at the pre-built sets that D'Addario an nothing really seemed to float my boat gauge wise.

After doing some more reading today, I think my testing order is looking like:
Fat Beams, Ken Smith Burners, Fodera's of some sort, perhaps Mr. Wooten's sig set even though the B is a bit looser than I normally like.

I do hope that more manufacturers get into the balanced tension business. I was spoiled by the Circle K's and have tries one set of traditional tension strings since them (MTD's) and just couldn't go back. D'Addario and DR already have some lines where the gauges are already being manufactured, they just need to bundle the sets.

mmbongo · #7 12-03-2011, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GMSweet

I do hope that more manufacturers get into the balanced tension business. I was spoiled by the Circle K's and have tries one set of traditional tension strings since them (MTD's) and just couldn't go back. D'Addario and DR already have some lines where the gauges are already being manufactured, they just need to bundle the sets.

You can bundle your own sets at Jason's site, he has all the DR singles available!

SLaPiNFuNK · #8 12-03-2011, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmbongo

You can bundle your own sets at Jason's site, he has all the DR singles available!

I have much more than is listed too, but I have the more common singles listed at the moment.

I have singles available for Dunlop, Ernie Ball, Dean Markley, All the GHS strings... LaBella are available but may take a little bit...

If you want a heavier B string for a Wooten set, I can make it happen... Get a 4 string set and I can add a heavier single Low-B. Custom sets with Fodera are available but would need to be ordered in larger quantities however (10).

GMSweet · #9 12-05-2011, 05:54 AM

Wow, a Wooten set with the matching .130 nickel B might be the trick. I think those just moved to the top of my list. Actually, you have a request on your site for that set.

Even though I'm a bit concerned that the B will sound different since the construction will be a little different (all nickel wraps on the Wooten set vs. nickel over stainless on the B).

@MMBongo - Jason has made it far too easy for those of us who like to experiment. Normally, I would buy from the other big online string seller since they are located in my home state of NH, but Jason's site is just what I'm looking for with all the "custom build" options. I still wish DR would make a .075 and .055 Fat Beam and a .055 Sunbeam. I'd even offer them my marketing term of "Balanced Beams" free of charge!

Once I get the Fodera strings in and installed, I'll offer up some sort of review. I tend to live with my strings for 3 months or so depending on usage. They are in the ball park of what I'm looking for mechanically, a balanced set with a round core; hopefully they are in the in the tone range as well!

For those who are reading, thanks for listening as I think out loud.

Matt

darkstorm · #10 12-05-2011, 07:54 PM

Dr neons, brighter then sunbeams but not as bright as hibeams. very pleasant spread and mix of lows thru highs to me. I tried sunbeams a couple times but they where to lacking in upper treble top compared to neons for me to really stick with them. Sunbeams being to bright to me.

GMSweet · #11 12-09-2011, 07:58 AM

The Foderas are on the bass. They are brighter than the Sunbeams but are definitely more grabby feel wise. I've only got a few hours on them so I will need more time. The .130 B string was a pain to install on my Schaller bridge. DRs usually have a little gap between the ball end and the wrap that slides right in; the Foderas were wrapped right up tight to the ball so I had to use a fair amount of persuasion to get it in.

Jason did a great job (as usual) packaging up a "special" set for me with the Wooten 4 + .130 B string.

Matt

SLaPiNFuNK · #12 12-09-2011, 08:49 AM

Matt, Looking forward to hearing what you think after you have a little time on them.

If they work well for you, maybe next time a Tapered B?

GMSweet · #13 12-10-2011, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLaPiNFuNK

Matt, Looking forward to hearing what you think after you have a little time on them.

If they work well for you, maybe next time a Tapered B?

Will do. Can you measure the distance of the tape for me? Other tapered strings I've used put the jump from taper to full winding where my right hand ring finger hits so I've avoided them. The good news is that the feel has smoothed out. The string to string balance is great and the sound, at least while they are new, reminds me more of Hi Beams but with more mids. I've got 6 or 7 hours on them now and I'm really enjoying them.

SLaPiNFuNK · #14 12-10-2011, 10:57 AM

Good to hear!

I measured a couple of strings... Both are 2" and 1/8" from the FRONT of the ball. If you go from the Back of the ball it will be about 2.25".

GMSweet · #15 02-07-2012, 06:29 AM

For those who might stumble onto this thread, I figured I would update it rather than create a new post...

The Fodera Wooten's with a .130 B:

My time with these strings is over. While I enjoyed them for the first month, I began fighting the sound at about the 5 week mark. Granted, I generally play every day and I had a few vacation days during that time so in that 5 weeks I would venture a guess that I had between 60-80 hours on them.

I'd compare the Fodera's as a blend between DR Hi-Beams and Sunbeams. The don't reach as high and aren't as scooped as the Hi-Beams and they aren't as warm as the Sunbeams; more like a good marriage between the two. I expected the feel to be a bit looser than they were given the string gauges, but this was not an issue at all. The added .130 nickel B from the standard set showed no noticeable difference in feel or tone and using Jason's BassStringsOnline.com to order the was fantastic.

So... What's not to like? In comparison to the DR strings, these Foderas fade in a way that was unpleasant to me. Instead of gradually dulling and becoming warmer while losing their top end, I found the sound to become more nasal and mid-focused. The top end got "crunchy", the harmonics were a struggle and on my already-mid-forward bass, it was too much. It almost seems as if some of the bottom end got a little lost as well, but I could very well be imagining that. Because of that, I'm breaking my rule about changing the strings quarterly.

Since they don't offer me anything substantially better than what I get with DR from the onset and they don't last as long for me, I can say I'm glad I've tried them, but they haven't knocked DR off the "my string" platform.

Up next... Jason has an order placed for a custom set of Ken Smith Burners and a set of DR Fat Beams just in case.

Matt